Highlights
- Mortal Kombat 1 will not have a Krypt mode, a fan-favorite feature in recent years, which might result in slightly less replayability than its predecessors.
- The Krypt has been the primary spot for collectibles in the Mortal Kombat franchise, offering rewards and incentivizing players to unlock everything the game has to offer.
- Although Mortal Kombat 1 won't have a Krypt, it will feature a new system for unlocks, but no details have been given yet about what it will look like. Fans hope it will be just as good or better than the Krypt.
Of all the classic fighting games, no series has been quite as content-rich as Mortal Kombat. While the original Mortal Kombat trilogy had plenty of characters and stages, the series' then-developer Midway continued to add more through various re-releases, and when it got time to move the series to the next generation of home consoles, Mortal Kombat only continued to grow. Additional characters, more stages, and entirely new game modes all started to appear with each new Mortal Kombat entry. But while Mortal Kombat 1 will undoubtedly be packed to the brim with content, there's one big fan-favorite feature it's going to be missing.
Collectibles have always been an important part of the Mortal Kombat franchise, whether it's just small pieces of concept art, extra music tracks found by accident, or fully-fledged playable characters and new arenas. Over the last two decades, Mortal Kombat has followed the same general structure for its countless collectibles, but for the first time in 21 years, Mortal Kombat 1 is going to be changing that system, and it could be for the worse.
Mortal Kombat 1's Lack of a Krypt Could Seriously Damage its Replayability
Starting all the way back in 2002 with Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, the Krypt has been the primary spot for all of Mortal Kombat's many collectibles over the last six mainline entries. Though the Krypt has seen many different variations over the years, its general structure has remained largely the same for two decades. Players enter an eerie graveyard, labyrinth, or catacomb, and with the currency they've built up by just playing the game they're able to purchase a vast range of different collectibles, often encompassing new stages, concept art, alternate costumes, music tracks, and on some occasions, fully playable characters.
Though the number of collectibles in the Krypt has gotten gradually lower with each entry, the Krypt itself has become a much more complex playground, going from a simple grid-based menu, to a first-person horror minigame with QTEs, to a full-on third-person action-puzzle game in Mortal Kombat 11. With consistently excellent rewards, and an incredibly addictive loop, Mortal Kombat's Krypt has always been a great way to incentivize players to get the most out of their copy, and spend tens of hours trying to unlock and see everything that the game has to offer.
Though it isn't the most important feature of a Mortal Kombat game, the Krypt is a great additional mode, and it's become a real fan-favorite feature in recent years. So naturally, when Ed Boon recently confirmed that Mortal Kombat 1 would have no Krypt mode, many fans were left pretty disappointed. While Mortal Kombat 1's core gameplay loop and mechanics will undoubtedly be enough to keep players invested for a good few hours, the lack of a Krypt mode might result in Mortal Kombat 1 having slightly less replayability than its predecessors.
However, Mortal Kombat 1 apparently won't be entirely without a collectible system. According to a recent interview with Ed Boon, the Creative Director at NetherRealm, a "Whole new system for unlocks" will be present in Mortal Kombat 1. No details have been given about this new system just yet, so it's impossible to really speculate on what Mortal Kombat 1's new unlock system might look like, but fans can only hope that it's just as good, if not better than the Krypt, packed full of genuinely worthwhile rewards like alternate costumes, new stages, and new characters to play as.
Mortal Kombat 1 releases on September 19 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
